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Science
US Science gets that CA$H Money
During the holiday hoopla here in the States, an exciting outcome came from Congress. The National Science Foundation, NASA, and other government research budgets were mostly unscathed. Many of us in academia grabbed an extra libation to celebrate once President Obama signed off on the bill. Agencies including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),…
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Science
Controversial Science: Metallic Hydrogen
For many years it has been thought that hydrogen exists in a metallic form under significant pressure, however it has never been proven. This week a study was published by two German scientists in Nature Materials, a reputable peer-reviewed journal, indicating that they have discovered metallic hydrogen. Excitement has surrounded this material for years because of the plethora of possibilities…
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Afternoon Inquisition
AI: Blue Eyes for Everyone
For the last ten years, Dr. Gregg Homer has been developing a laser eye procedure to turn brown eyes into blue eyes. There is some fascinating science involved, but does it mean that this form of elective cosmetic manipulation is necessary? Is it any different from dying your hair, a piercing, or plastic surgery? Before the irreversible procedure takes place,…
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Science
Happy Birthday, Marie Curie!
It is great to see Google honoring Marie Curie’s birthday today on its homepage. They depict her in an impressionistic illustration working at her chemistry bench, so check it out. I just wanted to take a second to remember an amazing woman. Not to mention, last month was the 100th anniversary of her second Nobel prize. She was the first…
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Science
At the Intersection of Art, Science, and Nature
Nobel month is coming to an end. Each field’s prominent science journals are recognizing their winners. As the new resident chemist here at Skepchick, I wanted to recognize Daniel Shechtman of Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa as this years winner of the chemistry Nobel Prize. His once ridiculed discovery of “quasicrystals” received the ultimate justification when a phone call…
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Science
The Man Behind the Curtain – Remembering Dennis Ritchie
The technology world is still buzzing with the recent passing of Steve Jobs. Unfortunately, the rightful buzz overshadowed the passing of Dennis Ritchie on October 12, 2011. Ritchie’s contributions to the field of software engineering are arguably just as important as the well known innovation by Jobs. Dennis Ritchie was a principal developer of the C programming language while at…
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Activism
FL Governor Suggests Turning State University Students into STEM Clones
Floridians beware! Rick Scott, Florida’s governor, wants to make STEM clones. Unfortunately, this is not an article about some awesome, novel stem cell research. Instead, Scott wants to take money away from liberal arts and put it into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Scott specifically discussed taking money away from programs such as psychology and anthropology. His…
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